Wilted Fate
by yeezy
Summary: With a twist of fate, Naruto dragged Sasuke back to Konoha during his initial attempt to runaway to Orochimaru. Years went by, with Naruto leaving to train with Jiraiya. Now he's back. sorry for the shitty description i just didn't know what else to say xD
1. Chapter 1

**Hi~ My name is Gabe. Uh, this is a fanfic I started up like a year ago and I never really got around to finishing it. I stumbled across it in my documents the other day and thought I might as well post it. Who knows, if some people like it I may end up working on it some more :-3. So yeah. Read, review, whatever. Also, I do not own Naruto or anything like that. Wassup wit it.**

* * *

_"Sasuke!"_

_The demonic howl reverberated throughout the typically placid valley. At the screech, a cluster of crows quickly took to the gathering clouds, fleeing under the premonition of coming destruction. They had stuck around despite the initial ravaging of their home done by the two figures who stood facing each other, one lurching over the stone foot on the esteemed First Hokage, the other one idly loitering on the treacherous Madara Uchiha's. The first, a spiky haired boy in an orange and blue jump suit, was encompassed in a bubbling shroud of gleaming red, the ethereal aura giving off nothing by malicious vibes. A lone tail jutted out of the cloak of chakra, and that, in conjunction with the sharp nails and teeth of the boy, depicted the image of a feral beast, the great fox of legend, much like the one suppressed within the yellow-haired lad. The brooding boy opposite of the Jinchuriki had dead looking gray skin and long, dark hair lazily hanging from his head. Upon his face there four-sided star, resting just below his eyes, staring ahead with a tantalizing gaze. A mere glance into those eyes would stop most men dead in their tracks. A blazing red with three tomoe arranged in a triangular fashion, his ocular devices looked forward with murderous intent. To top it all off, there were two hand-like wings gently protruding from the Uchiha's back, lifting him ever so slightly off the ground. Hovering there in solitude, he simply regarded his former teammate with a face of contempt._

_"Sasuke, you bastard! I'll ask you of this one last time, come back to Konoha with me willingly or I'll drag you back, inch by inch!" As he shouted this, Naruto's chakra tail slowly whipped back and forth, twitching with unseen power. The steady, deliberate pace of this flicker contrasted greatly with the edge he had to his body, the anticipation of what was about to occur between the two comrades, the two friends, the two brothers._

_Sasuke just chuckled. His singsong voice rumbled out of his throat with ease, much like an eerie purr. "Naruto, you dobe. Do you honestly think _you_ can force me back? You're a loser, a nobody, a dead last failure. My heritage alone is enough to put your sorry ass to shame." He paused. "You should consider yourself honored, your death will be the first stepping stone as I transcend into greatness. After I kill you, I'll obtain my Mangekyo Sharingan, then I'll hunt down Ita-"_

_"Dammit Sasuke, shut the hell up with that rubbish! I told you, that was your last warning", Naruto growled, "Now it looks like I'll just have to knock some sense into you."Slowly, chakra began to spiral around in Naruto's palm. The blue chakra of the ball and the red chakra of the cloak coalesced, forming a perfect purple sphere. A gentle humming instantly became integrated into the portrait that was unfolding between the two, the result of the jutsu. Standing there, Naruto tensed his body as he prepared to launch himself towards Sasuke._

_"Hn."_

_That simple, two-letter phrase said so little, yet told so much. It was the personification of the catalyst in their relationship – the fact that both boys, so use to a grueling lonesome, fell into such a perfect, mutuality harmony. They could communicate, could convey their feelings through nothing more than a effortless 'hn'. It resulted in a sense of kinship each had inwardly wished for during all of their ailments, all of the scrutiny and pain they endured. Presented to them on a silver platter like it was, it was so surreal, so terrifyingly surreal neither wanted to acknowledge that it existed. That they cared._

_Sasuke felt a current run through his body. His hand exploded into an electrical mass of chakra, the color quickly turning black and white, tainted by the sinister chakra emitted from the curse seal on the boy's neck. The wail of a thousand birds entered the scene as well, clashing with the indissoluble drone that the other boy has brought to the table._

_"Rasengan!"_

_"Chidori!"_

_Time seemed to slow down as the two friends flew towards each other, the powerful roar of a waterfall echoing behind them. Right before the two forces collided, a second tail erupted from Naruto's miasmic cloak, quickly followed up by a third. Sasuke's eyes read the sudden escalation of chakra within Naruto, but he was flying too quickly to avoid contact. It seemed impossible. How? Why? No matter what he did, Naruto always seemed to miraculously conjure some marvel. His eyes widened as the Rasengan increased in both size and strength – right before slamming straight through his Chidori and scraping his chest. Sasuke was thrown back by the blunt force of the attack, making a considerable crater in the knee of Madara's statue._

_As the Rasengan dissolved in Naruto's hand after sending Sasuke spiraling back, the vile, pent up Kyubi chakra exploded, knocking the boy back into Hashirama's statue. The sheer heinous power behind it was too much for the weak body of its container to bear. The blast from the Rasengan formed a giant cloud of excess chakra. The patches slowly wandered down into the valley, lingering. This giant eruption caught the attention of a certain Konoha shinobi who was desperately racing to stop his two subordinates fight before it could escalate to the level it just did._

_"Shit!" Kakashi groaned as he realized what the source of the blast was. With even more resolve and hast, the gray-haired ninja set off in the direction of the Valley of the End, with his nin-dog Pakkun trailing right behind him._

_"The Valley of the End, eh? Seems sort of fitting for the two. Don'tcha think, Kakashi?" Pakkun said, trying to keep Kakashi's mind off of dreading the upcoming sight too much._

_All the dog got in response was a curt nod of the head. Evidentially, Kakashi's mind was too preoccupied for such small talk. A few more minutes flew by in a deafening silence, and the two came to a halt as they stumbled onto the scene that, mere moments ago, was a battlefield for two brothers. Kakashi's single visible eye quickly widened as he slowly made his way towards the two statues that ominously hung over the now still lake, trying to make out the scene shrouded in the clouds of chakra._

_To the left, Sasuke was lying in a bloodied heap, his chest slightly torn open. Blood poured out without relent, forming a boundless depth of the irony liquid around him. He had chakra burns all around the central wound, which was in the shape of a spiral. Kakashi quickly ran over to his student and, using the very scarce medical ninjutsu knowledge he possessed, tried to patch up the gaping wound as best as he could._

_Pakkun had ran to the opposite side, where Naruto sat down, sprawled over the base of the Hashirama's foot. Pakkun could quickly tell the boy was unconscious and completely exhausted due to taping into the Kyubi's power. He had very minor wounds and his right hand looked demolished, burnt and battered due to the burning sensation of power the Kyubi had leaked into Naruto's Rasengan. However, he wasn't in any mortal danger, and with some medical attention and rest, he would be fine within a week or two. Assessing the situation as fine, the dog hopped over to Kakashi, who cradled a severely beat up Sasuke._

_"Pakkun, quickly, make your way back to Konoha. Tell Tsunade-sama to dispatch a team of medical ninjas. I'll set up a camp just west of here in the forest, and attend to these two as best as I can." With a quick look at Sasuke, Kakashi added, "I don't think he'll last much longer… Go Pakkun, we haven't a second to waste."_

_With a grim nod, Pakkun sped off back to Konoha, praying that the Uchiha would last long enough to be helped. Pakkun took off. Kakashi set up a crude camp right where he indicated he would. Minutes later, the rain began to fall._

_Naruto slowly regained consciousness as small droplets of rain pelted his face. He looked around him quietly, his mind still clouded. The knuckle-head ninja had a weird feeling that something important just transpired, but couldn't quite put his finger on it… Shrugging that odd feeling off, Naruto went to get up. As he lifted himself off the ground, he winced in pain._

_"Owwww! Gah, why does my body ache so much?"_

_Naruto shivered as his body was quickly chilled due to the abundance of rain. "Man, what I'd give for some Ichiraku's right now…" Then he noticed Kakashi sitting atop a boulder to his right. Kakashi hadn't seemed to notice Naruto's awakening, so Naruto clumsily ran up to him._

_"Oi, Kakashi-sensei! Boy, my body hurts like hell! Where are w-"_

_Naruto's rambling was quickly cut short as his sensei whipped around in surprise at the boy's voice. Despite the man's typically aloof manner, one look at the man and anyone could see he was visibly upset. The notion of _anyone _being able to sense his distress was apparent, for even the ever so dense Naruto could tell something was amiss. Silently, the hot-headed shinobi made his way up onto the boulder, and gracelessly plopped himself down next to his teacher._

_They both sat there for a second, not saying anything. The memories of his and Sasuke's fight came creeping back into Naruto's mind as he noticed his comrade's fragile form just a few feet away, back at the temporary camp that had been struck up. This realization dawning on him, Naruto couldn't help but turn to Kakashi and scream "Kakashi! What the hell happened between Sasuke and I?! Is he okay? I let the Nine-Tails chakra empower me, and he was all weird-looking and we clashed and then-"_

_Kakashi cut him off. "Naruto, it's alright. Sasuke will be fine. Any second now, a group of medical ninja should arrive. You pressed him quite hard. I'm surprised he's hanging on in the state he's in. Hell, I'm surprised you're fine. Just two hours ago, you were completely knocked out and that your right hand of yours was torn up."_

_Naruto seemed a bit relived that he hadn't killed his best friend, but, in his worry, couldn't help but ask, "D-does this mean he'll… return to Konoha?"_

_Kakashi sighed. "I don't know, Naruto, I don't know… We'll take him back, obviously. He needs dire medical attention if he wants to survive without any lingering ailments. But after that, what's to stop him from picking up and leaving again?"_

_Kakashi's words flew around in his head for a bit and then-_

* * *

Blue eyes flashed open, and a spiky bundle of yellow hair flung up in a hurried, panic-like manner. Naruto sat up in his bed, a cold sweat working its way down his face. A few drops fell onto his sheets as he hung his head down in thought. He looked to the sleeping figure on the other bed in the room. He saw his master's wild, porcupine-like snow white hair wildly sprawled about. He was muttering something along the lines of, "Ow! Tsunade-chaaaaaaan, I wasn't peeping! I was just – dammit you flat-chested whore that hurt, OW THAT HURT EVEN MORE – I was, erm, just doing some, uh, research! Yeah, research. I'm an accomplished author you know, I need to find my inspiration somehow…" Blah blah blah. Naruto couldn't help but smirk at his perverted sensei's perverted dreams running around in his perverted head. His face took on a more serious expression as his dream re-entered his thoughts.

_It's nearly been four years sense then…_

Naruto's thoughts wandered back to what happened after the medi-nin discovered their make-shift camp and, after dealing with Sasuke's major wounds, set off towards Konoha…

* * *

_A groan escaped Sasuke's lips as he finally came back to his senses. It was midday. Nearly a full day had passed since Naruto and Sasuke's fateful encounter._

_As the noise emitted from Sasuke's throat, he found five pairs of eyes staring at him with mixed emotions. He saw the concerned stares of three medical ninja, the relived eyes of his sensei, and, making contact with a pair of shining sapphire eyes, he saw a multitude of things. Annoyance, relieve, happiness, and, most surprisingly, a tint of arrogance._

_"Hah, Sasuke, you're such a light weight man. I totally kicked your ass _and_ came to hours before you did."_

_Everyone instantly sweat-dropped. Sasuke just stared at Naruto blankly, the yesterday's events playing through his head. Suddenly he lashed out at Kakashi, whose back he was being carried on._

_"Hn. Where the hell do you think your taking me? Back to Konoha? Hah."_

_Saying those words with a severe disdain towards everyone present, he quickly tried to form a Chidori in his left hand, fully prepared to strike them all dead, but recoiled in pain. Apparently he was fixed up enough to survive, but the remnants of his fight still affected him. He hadn't enough chakra to activate his Sharingan, let only form a Chidori._

_Kakashi let out a disappointed grunt before giving a nod towards the medics to inject him with syringes filled with anesthetics that would temporarily shut him up. Sasuke quickly fell back into oblivion as the party arrived at the gates of Konoha._

* * *

_As the group wearily stumbled into the village, a blur of pink rushed by, making her way to Sasuke. Naruto grinned at the thought of his favorite kunoichi awaiting his return._

_Disregarding the fact that she had ignored him all together, Naruto announced with ebullience, "SAKURA-CHAAAAAANNN~ I told you, it was the promise of a life time! I brought Sasuke back, and now you don't have to worry, I'll make sure he sta-"_

_Naruto's words were cut short as Sakura rushed into his arms. He felt his shirt become doused in tears. He looked at Sakura's face. Tears streaked her soft, pale cheeks. One look at her could showed off the fact that she'd spent the past two days in a state of worry, crying her eyes out._

_"S-Sakura-chan…"_

_"Thank you, Naruto. Thank you so much. I…," she started to choke on her words. "…I know I couldn't be of any use to you or Sasuke, but trust me, I'll make sure I work just as hard as everyone else, and next time, nothing like this will happen! I'll train for me, for Sasuke, for you, for Team Seven! I…" She couldn't continue, and the sobs just came out, rolling out of her like a waterfall._

_Naruto couldn't help but blush at having Sakura so close to him, holding her in his arms, her chest heaving up and down against his… _Dammit, I've been hanging around Ero-sennin too much… _He silently chided himself for thinking such unorthodox thoughts. Naruto just stood there and soothed the over-whelmed pink-haired girl with kind words before she made her way back to Sasuke, cradling him in her arms._

_Kakashi silently watched the scene unfold before him. He couldn't help but smile underneath his mask at Naruto's obvious discomfort with having Sakura leaning onto him. The smile grew as he heard her words, and saw Naruto's face deepen in color, nearly matching her flamboyant hair. Deep down, it upset him a bit knowing how much more this exhibition meant to Naruto than it did Sakura, but he was too worn out to think of such dour things._

_After a few moments, the medics managed to pry Sasuke from Sakura' s iron-like grip and get him on his way to the hospital. Naruto timidly walked towards the crestfallen cherry blossom, not sure how to approach her after her little breakdown of sorts._

Hehe, maybe now would be a good time to ask her on a date…, _Naruto thought, his dense personality not realizing that maybe he should lay off for a while. After all, she had just lost the "love" of her live, and now had him brought back on a platter._ We could get some ramen, and go for a walk in the park, and then maybe I could steal a kiss from her as I walk her home! _Inwardly squealing with delight like a crazed 12-year old girl, Naruto's thoughts were quickly diminished as the fan girl ran after the medics, determined not to leave Sasuke's side until he was back at 100%, retaining his aplomb attitude._

_Kakashi placed his hand on a sullen looking Naruto's shoulder, and quietly said, "You should probably go report to Hokage-sama. I know you've been through a lot, but she'll want to know all of the details. After that, I'd get some rest. Even though those medics we were travelling with said you'd be fine, a little bit of downtime won't hurt. Anyways, I've got some stuff to take care of. See you!"_

_Before disappearing in a puff of smoke, Kakashi quickly added an "Oh, and good job yesterday Naruto. You were the only one who could save him…" Then poof and he was gone._

_Naruto smiled to himself in that glee manner only he could then hopped off towards the Hokage Tower to report to Tsunade._

* * *

_"Alright, see ya Baachan!"_

_Naruto snickered as a he heard Tsunade's mutterings about her not being THAT old while he exited her office._

Hmmm… Maybe I should go see if Sasuke's alright now… Plus, Sakura-chan might be there! Maybe then I could ask her out!

_Naruto leaped off towards the hospital with thoughts of him and Sakura eating ramen while confessing their undying love for each other. Soon, he found himself rushing into the lobby of Konoha's hospital. The receptionist regarded him with a sneer._

_"Tch, what do you want, Uzumaki?"_

_Naruto could've sworn he heard a "demon boy" muttered under her breath, but the ever so proud shinobi simply ignored her comment, despite the pang of hurt he felt inside. He cleared his throat and asked "What room is Sasuke Uchiha in?"_

_She stared at him with distrusting eyes for a second, before bluntly replied in an impudent manner. She told him second floor, third room on the left. Her voice was lavished with animosity. The now slightly discouraged boy slowly and quietly made his way to Sasuke's room. Upon his entrance, he saw the Uchiha was awake, his eyes glaring towards the ceiling. He was strapped down with chakra enhanced wires, preventing him from giving into his inner temptations and leaving once again. Off to his side was a distraught Sakura, her eyes swollen, puffy, and rimmed with red. Naruto, being the simple-minded idiot he was, assumed that the kunoichi's tears were due to her extreme happiness for Sasuke's return._

_"Yosh! Sakura-chan! Sasuke! What's good guys?"_

_He had a sheepish grin plastered on his face, and his hands were behind his head in a very nonchalant manner. After no response came from either of his two teammates, he still didn't quite catch on to the mood._

_"Hey, why are you two being so quiet? Aren't you glad to be back home, Sasu-"_

_"Do you ever shut up, idiot?"_

_Sasuke's words stung Naruto. The ever so lighthearted boy had expected Sasuke to realize his misdeeds and be happy with being back in Konoha by now. However, being the stubborn guy he was, Naruto wouldn't show his frustration at Sasuke's words._

_"What's grinding your gears, Sasuke? Still upset because I kicked your ass?" Naruto said these words in a teasing manner. Sasuke didn't think it was that funny._

_"Naruto, I swear to God, when I get out of this hellhole of a hospital, I'll beat you down like the animal you ar-"_

_"Sasuke, stop it dammit!"_

_Sakura's outburst brought both boys' attention to her. One pair of eyes, a stoic black color, stabbed daggers at her in an irritated manner. The other, two deep pools of mystic water, looked at her with concern. Then he realized why she had been crying._

_"Sasuke, you ass, what the hell did you say to Sakura?"_

_Sasuke turned his attention to the blonde-haired ninja, who was getting more and more enraged by the second._

_"I just told her the truth. That she was a helpless, immature bitch who would never be a help to anyone and needs to take a hint when someone thinks she's anno-"_

_Boom. Naruto's fist collided with Sasuke's jaw, throwing his head to the side. Spitting out blood, an unsettling cackle of laughter erupting from the throat of the heartless Uchiha._

_"Do. Not. Say. That. Sort. Of. Shit. To. Sakura."_

_"I-it's okay Naruto… Sasuke's just… upset, that's all. He'll be fine if we just give him time to get a grip of himself and then we'll go back to the same ol' Team Seven…"_

_Naruto just stared at her, disbelieve clouding his eyes. Just now, he realized saving Sasuke wasn't as simple as he thought it'd be._

_"Sakura-chan… Sasuke needs some serious help, it's not that simple…"_

_At this remark, Sasuke's menacing laughter just grew. "Naruto, I never once pegged you as the least be competent, but at least you can see I'm done with you losers. You're all so pitiful for Kami's sake! It makes me sick just being in the same room as you shitheads."_

_Naruto just gave Sasuke's a pissed off look, then stared at Sakura, unable to express his feelings. She could see the pain her ignorance caused him in his eyes._

_"I'm sorry Naruto… I… I just can't give up on someone like Sasuke… Someone I…" She paused._

_"Love…"_

_The door slammed behind Naruto as he ran off. One of the nurses had walked by and saw Naruto's punch towards Sasuke, and whispered a quick insult as he dashed by. Naruto paid no heed to this, he was too angry to care. He flew out the door of the hospital. He was running. He didn't care where to. He didn't care how he got there. He just wanted out. He was tired of everyone's comments, tired of Sasuke's resolve to become an avenger, tired of Sakura's stubbornness and dedication towards Sasuke, tired of her blindness to his corruption. He just ran. He ran past houses, buildings, benches. He ran out of the city gates, catching the two shinobi stationed there off guard. They stared as he ran off into the distance. Soon, they regained their composure and one quickly went to alert the Hokage of Naruto's sudden departure from Konoha. The other started after him, but realized he was long gone. He trudged back to his post._

_Sometime later, Naruto found himself in a small, secluded patch of grass. Surrounded by trees, the desolate alcove seemed out of place. A river rushed by to his left. He sat down, his head in his hands. He couldn't stop the tears from creeping down his face, much like how the leaves gently fell from the trees surrounding him. He was soon openly lamenting, wails of anguish escaping his lips. He noticed a faint presence behind him, seemingly hovering there, too apprehensive to approach him, but not wanting to leave him there. He paid no heed to it. There was a crunch as the nervous girl slowly made her way towards him. She had stepped on a few of the fallen leaves. Naruto's shoulders became rigid at the sound. Soon the dark-haired girl realized he had noticed her presence._

_"N-Naruto-kun…."_

_At the sound of her squeaky voice, Naruto's ears perked up a bit._

_"Hinata? What are you doing here?"_

_"O-oh. I-I was, um…. Collecting f-flowers by the r-riverbed…"_

_Momentarily forgetting his turmoil, Naruto asked why she was picking flowers. He was genuinely interested. The quiet Hyuga had always seemed odd to him, and he never quite got her. Since Naruto was as gregarious as he was, the dobe wanted to get to know her better. Plus, she was kinda cute to boot._

_Hinata replied, in broken words of course, that she was doing it for no particular reason. She just liked flowers. Her face was growing darker and darker by the second, and it appeared that she would collapse from nervousness at any moment._

_"Hinata, sit down by me. Please, Hinata."_

_Forgetting how to form proper words, Hinata just let a nervous gasp escape her lips and shuffled over to sit by Naruto. She slowly sat down, not knowing what to do next._

_"Hinata, I just… I don't know what to do. I brought Sasuke back, but his mentality hasn't changed at all. He needs to be helped, but no one else can see it… I feel so helpless. I've already done so much for Sasuke, but I just can't seem to stop him. I just feel like giving up sometimes… No one in the village even gives me a second glance, everyone calls me 'demon boy', throws me out of shops. Mothers grab their kids by the arm and drag them away from me, whispering for their children to never associate with me. It kills me inside…"_

_Naruto said this in a choked up voice. Hinata nodded slightly. She had heard about the successful mission, and had silently thanked Kami for returning Naruto safely. But her heart broke as she realized what a difficult life Naruto lead, how no one would accept him. She tried to say something, anything to comfort him. But the words wouldn't come out. Just being so close to Naruto, side-by-side with him caused her mouth to become drier than the vast deserts of Suna._

_Naruto wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket and said with a smirk, "Heh, I feel like an idiot. I'm sitting here, crying and confiding in someone I hardly even know. Oh well, you seem like a really caring person Hinata." He looked up into the sky and saw it was darkening. " I've been away for a while, I'm sure Baachan is tearing up the entire village looking for me. I should get going."_

_Hinata just murmured in agreement, her words incoherent. Naruto went to get up, but stooped down on his knees before rising, looking right into her face while she sat. Their faces were inches from each other. Hinata's face blossomed into an impossibly red blush._

_"Hinata… Thanks. I really needed to just get that off my chest. You're awesome! Anyways, I'll talk to you later, alright?"_

_The now content shinobi got up and made his way back to Konoha, leaving Hinata with her head spinning._

He… N-Naruto-kun… said I'm a-awesome…

_The white-eyed girl felt her head beginning to spin due to the deep blush that had invaded her cheeks. She spent the next few minutes just sitting there, in a daze._

* * *

_Upon entering Konoha, Naruto was tackled to the ground by three ANBU._

_"Gah – what the heck? Ow, get off me! I didn't do anything."_

_"Our apologizes, Uzumaki-san, but Hokage-sama requested that you are detained and brought to her on sight." Despite the formal manner the ANBU used, Naruto was all too familiar with that inconsiderate tone of voice._

Even other ninja look down upon me because of that damned fox…

_With those words, the three ANBU made their way to the Hokage Tower, Naruto in toll, struggling and complaining the whole way._

_Upon arrival, Naruto was quickly brought into Tsunade's office, and all three ANBU disappeared in individual puffs of smoke. Tsunade regarded Naruto angrily._

_"BAAAKA. Naruto, you're an idiot. What the hell were you doing bombarding out of the village like that? You should know we can't just have our shinobi waltzing out of Konoha whenever they feel like it!"_

_"Hah, sorry Baachan! I, um, was just a bit upset and had to think for a little while…" The yellow-hair boy scratched his head all the while saying this. Tsunade's stiff expression softened at his words, she reached out to pull him into an embrace, but suddenly Jiraiya came crashing through the window. Naruto let out an excited laugh._

_"Ero-sennin! What're you doing here?!"_

_"Yo, Naruto! I've been thinking, I want to continue that training I gave you. Practice mastering the Rasengan, amongst some other basic training. I already okayed it with her," he nodded his head towards slightly annoyed Tsunade. "So how 'bout it? With those people we met in that inn a while back after you, I think it'd be wise to strengthen you up a bit."_

_Tsunade just shook her head slightly amused at the brash attitude of her old teammate._

_"I was just about to get to that, before you so rudely decided to smash through my window. Naruto, I think you should know, the training will take tw-"_

_Once again, she was cut off. This time, by a screaming Naruto._

_"YOSH! Alright Ero-sennin, let's go! How long's this one going to take? A month, two? Where are we going? Will we be here in Konoha? What will I be learning? Are you going to teach me some new awesome technique, more powerful than Rasengan? Will w-"_

_SMACK. "NARUTO, YOU BRAT. I AM STILL THE 5TH HOKAGE, STOP IGNORING ME DAMMIT." She cleared her throat before continuing. "Alright, Naruto, the training will take two years. You and Jiraiya will travel abroad, probably going through several different nations."_

_Naruto started to look a bit disheartened at her words. He had a small pout on his face._

_"Huh? So I won't be able to stay in Konoha? I just rescued Sasuke…"_

_He felt Jiraiya's firm grip on his shoulder. Naruto's blue eyes shot up, and looked at the perverted Sage's face. He saw nothing but genuine understanding etched into his old, sun-beaten face._

_"Kiddo, I know what you're going through. When Orochimaru defected from Konoha, I tried to do exactly what you did for Sasuke. The only thing is, I failed. You succeeded. Sasuke's got tons of people around to support him. He'll be fine. Everyone will support him, and I'm sure he'll be back to the old Sasuke in no time at all!"_

_Seeing Naruto perk up at his words, the Sannin jokingly added with a lecherous wink, "And I'm sure as hell Sakura won't let Sasuke slip away from here again with her feisty attitude. Damn, in a few years I might have to pull the ol' Jiraiya charm out on her, I'm sure she'll be into all kinds of kinky stuff…"_

_All signs of whatever comfort the fox-boy had taken in Jiraiya's first words quickly evaporated. Now the boy stood there, rage seeping out of every pore in his body (he was also slightly mortified by Jiraiya's scandalize words towards his beautiful blossom!). After smacking the perverted old Jiraiya into next week, Tsunade quickly noticed the changed demeanor of the Jinchuriki. She jaded Naruto's rage a bit, and then asked him why he had gotten so worked up at the mention of Sakura and Sasuke. After a quick re-telling of the events in the hospital, Tsunade's eyes paled and her fist started shaking._

_"That ungrateful little bastard… I swear, the second he's fully healed, I'll personally make sure he's sent right back to that hospital for another month."_

_The Hokage vented for a little while longer, completely tarnishing the Uchiha pride. Jiraiya finally got sick of her raging and cut her off. She glared angrily at him, but sat there without a peep._

_"Now," the aging sage said, "Let's get back to the original issue. Naruto, are you coming with me or not? I'll be leaving tomorrow morning, and it's getting late. You'll probably need to pack, and then get your rest, so I need an answer pronto."_

_Naruto sat there for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his head. _I won't be able to see Sakura-chan, help Sasuke, or train with Kakashi-sensei, or…. _A quaint Hyuga heiress entered his mind momentarily as he remembered how he had confided in her early. …_Or talking with Hinata again for nearly two years… Plus the rest of my friends. _The jeers and taunts of nearly every other civilian came rushing back to him. His mind filled with dark thoughts of how they had abused him throughout his entire life, how no one ever paid him any heed, writing him off as a dead-last, a loser._

_"Alright, Ero-sennin, I'm going with you! I'll train as hard as I can for two years, then I'll come back stronger than anyone has ever been – stronger than the 4th Hokage himself! Then everyone will _have _to respect me! Believe it!"_

_With those optimistic words said, the spunky ball of yellow and orange rushed out of the Hokage Tower, set on packing up everything he could and then getting a full night of rest for the upcoming departure. Jiraiya and Tsunade smiled at the boy as he eagerly set off._

_"Hah, he reminds me so much of Minato at that age…"_

_Tsunade chuckled and replied, "Like father like son I suppose. Now," she removed a tray from under her desk, with two glasses and a jar of sake atop it, "how about we have one last night of drinks before you set off, hm?"_

_Jiraiya let out a hearty laugh. "Damn Tsunade, if I didn't know you any better, I'd say you were finally coming on to me. I knew no woman could resist my charm for too long!"_

_The two Sannin both chuckled, before clanking their glasses together, excited for Naruto's upcoming training regimen. After all, they both regarded him as a bit of a grandson. They sipped their sake quietly, enjoying the peace. All too soon, that sort of serene quiet would become all too foreign to them…_

Naruto looking longingly towards the ceiling, lost in his deep sea of thoughts.

"Man, so much has changed sense then…"

After setting off with Jiraiya, Naruto's two-year journey went by smoothly. They adventuring all around, staying in all sorts of places. Naruto had learned all kinds of stuff from Jiraiya, and even improved his Rasengan, creating the Oodama Rasengan. However, right when they were planning to return to Konoha, Akatsuki made its move.

It had been a bright, happy day when all of a sudden a giant fireball ignited itself into the rustling field where Naruto was training. Jiraiya, who had been meditating off to the side, quickly used up the nature energy he had amassed and entered sage mode. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki stepped out of the shadow of the setting sun. After a quick battle, Jiraiya thought it'd be best to flee, and grabbed Naruto by the waist. Using the reverse summoning technique, they appeared in the peculiar land of the toads – Mount Myobaki. It was then that Jiraiya told his student of the upcoming hell he would go through, being constantly tracked by the gang of S-ranked criminals. The master and student would lay low at Myobaki for a while, and Naruto would go through sage training. When Naruto asked if they would ever return to Konoha, Jiraiya simply shook his head with remorse, not knowing the answer to that question.

Now it was just about two years after that day. Naruto was an official, accomplished sage, and a completely new shinobi. He had taken his powers to a whole new level. Along with his sage powers, he had discovered his affinity to wind style techniques, and developed the Rasenshuriken under very careful tutorage from both Jiraiya and Fukasaku, one of the two great toad sages. The Jinchuriki also met up with the only other remaining Jinchuriki, Killer B, and put that damn Nine-Tails in his place. Akatsuki had discovered their location with B, and invaded. Naruto and Jiraiya fled the scene while the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki held them off as best as he could. That was three months ago. They had no clue what become of B, and decided it would be best not to return. It would be too risky.

And now, four years after leaving Konoha, Jiraiya and Naruto were finally about to set off on their trek back to that special place. Back to Konoha. Back to the place they called home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi~ Here's the second chapter i guess. i only have two more written (and both are quite shoddy work if you ask me) and i don't really plan on working on this project anymore past that. but regardless, here's the second installment in wilted fate. read and review, if you'd please :-3. much luv thug passion.**

**also, i do not own naruto or any of that jazz.**

* * *

Sun slowly crept into the room. The fluttering wings of a bird flying off the tree branch just outside the blinds infiltrated her ears as her eyes bloomed open. She quickly showered, waking her up from the half-conscious state she always seeped down into upon awakening. The kunoichi slowly got dressed in her typical get-up – a plain red shirt, accompanied by tight black shorts. The shorts were covered up by a short gray skirt. Upon her feet she wore the standard black ninja boots. As she finished gearing up for another boring day in her life, she slipped her headband on. It rested on the typical spot, atop her head, in such a manner that it was quite reminiscent of the bow she wore as a child. She sluggishly made her way downstairs and made a cup of tea. After diminishing the teacup of its contents, she left her house.

The now 18-year old woman noiselessly wandered down the path that connected her house to the makeshift Hokage Tower. She took her time, basking in the sunlight. It seemed as if the attacks on the village had never happened. Only a short year and a half ago, Orochimaru grew impatient and realized Sasuke wasn't going to seek him out. He decided to take manners into his own hands, and set out to destroy Konoha. An epic struggle ensued, and most of the city was destroyed in the heat of it all. After a constant back and forth, a small group managed to penetrate Orochimaru's defensive line and directly confronted the creepy Sannin. It ended with Tsunade finishing off her old teammate. Everything was perfect, right? Well, unfortunately that wasn't the case. The battle itself took a large toll on Tsunade herself. In her weakened state, the elders decided to bring Tsunade's leadership under questioning. Her authority was questioned, and surprisingly, quite a few people considered Tsunade's peaceful tactics to be a bad thing for Konoha. She maintained her position of Hokage, but the elders had a considerable amount of influence on all of the doings of the village, and that influence was slowly growing day by day.

Along with this fallout, the village was in shambles. Much of it was destroyed. The rebuilding process has been painfully slow and tedious, but things were finally patching themselves up. Buildings were resurrected, deaths were finally being got over, the scars of the large-scale battle being forgotten. Amidst all of these calamities, there was still one thing that struck Sakura with worry and doubt…

_It'll be fall soon, _the pink-haired blossom thought to herself. _This fall will mark the fourth year since Naruto left…_

Although she would never openly admit how much she missed him, she couldn't help but still get a tad bit worked up at the fact that he just uprooted and left without any sort of warning. Especially _right_ after the blue-eyed shinobi had dragged Sasuke back to Konoha. It was right before he left that she realized how much the simple-minded idiot had meant to her. When he had stormed out of the hospital that day, Sakura had felt an anguish she never thought she'd ever feel for Naruto. Seeing him running out of that room, tears streaming down his face…

She shivered, despite the heat that was pounding down on her from the sky. Lost in her thoughts, the pink-haired apprentice of the Hokage hadn't even realized that she now stood in front of her master's door. She shook her head, clearing out all of the regretful thoughts of letting Naruto slip away back then. She also remembered Tsunade mentioning something about a new mission. Proceeding to knock on the door, Tsunade's gruff bark of permission to enter was heard. The aging Hokage's face lit up a bit seeing that it was Sakura, and not those crabby old elders.

Sakura entered the room, and was delighted to see Kakashi coolly standing off to the side. She smiled at her old sensei, and nodded, somewhat stiffly, towards the other figure standing a bit behind Kakashi. A small "Hn." came from behind the ANBU mask the man wore.

Sakura drawled, "You're ever so talkative, Sasuke-_kun_."

Despite the mask covering his expression, Sakura could feel the glare he sent her direction. The kunoichi giggled at how riled up Sasuke got at the smallest things. Ever since Naruto left, there was a rift of tension in their relationship. Eventually, Team 7 was just disbanded as a whole. At first, Sakura was surprised to see that Sasuke was willingly staying in Konoha. It was largely due to Kakashi. Their sensei took over as a bit of a father figure for Sasuke, and told him that seeking out Orochimaru and using the power that would be given to him to kill Itachi wouldn't be true. It would be a lie, a gambit. It would prove that despite everything, Sasuke's lone power would never be enough to trump his brother. Of course, Sasuke took this as a personal insult initially and refused to see either her or Kakashi for weeks. He still stayed In Konoha, albeit begrudgingly. Nonetheless, it seemed as if Kakashi's words had struck a chord in him. He spent his days training, persevering through the ranks of the shinobi force. Now he worked strictly as an ANBU agent. Over the course of this transgression, he finally managed to rekindle his old relationship with Kakashi and Sakura herself. The three saw each other from time to time, but rarely gathered together like this. Tsunade began to speak, interrupting Sakura's thoughts.

"Alright, as I've informed all of you, I have a mission for you three. It's in regards to Akatsuki. More specifically," she made eye contact with each of them, "it could possibly give us information on Jiraiya – and Naruto."

Sakura let out a gasp. Kakashi's eye widened in surprise and an eyebrow arched up, begging the Hokage to continue. Even Sasuke showed a bit of a reaction, his head jerking up slightly.

Two years into the trip Naruto and Jiraiya embarked on, they suddenly disappeared. Tsunade had been receiving monthly updates to them through letters, and the last one she had received indicated that they would be returning within the next six weeks. Days passed by. Those days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Months turned into two long years. Nothing was heard from or seen of them. They just… disappeared. No one, not even Tsunade, had the slightest clue of what happened to them. On a daily basis, Sakura found herself worrying about Naruto, hoping, praying that he was safe.

Of course, the same could be said about Tsunade towards Jiraiya's disappearance. It was obvious that his sudden exit from the face of the Earth had been taking a hefty toll on her – emotionally as well as physically. Then the incident with Orochimaru, and the elder's inconsistent prattling about how incompetent she was didn't help. The once radiant Hokage was slowly descending into a shell of her former self. Jiraiya would often leave the village for periods of time beforehand, sometimes ever longer than this. Despite that, there was always word from or about him. But, all of a sudden, he was gone. Along with Naruto.

_Naruto… You better still be out there somewhere, alive and well… Or… Or else… I don't know what I'll d-_

Sakura stopped herself. What was she saying? Yeah, Naruto was her teammate, her comrade but… it ended there, right? It might even be a bit of a stretch to call them _friends_, let alone a reason to keep her up at night, clouds of worry drifting within her mind. But…

Once again, the living personification of a cherry blossom was brought back into reality by Tsunade's voice.

"An informant presented himself at the gates of Konoha last night. He said he was with both Jiraiya and Naruto only 3 months ago. He had been training Naruto. Then, two of Akatsuki attacked Naruto then. Both Naruto and Jiraiya fled the scene unharmed, and our informant managed to exterminate one of them, Kisame Hoshigaki. Unfortunately the other," Tsunade directed her attention to Sasuke, "Itachi Uchiha, managed to get away."

The change in Sasuke's demeanor was obvious. Suddenly his body tensed up, and the flash of rage that was conjured up inside of him could be felt. Sakura shot him a sympathetic glance, while Kakashi put a hand on the ANBU's shoulder, both comforting and restraining him from exploded out the room. Tsunade cleared her throat.

"More importantly, it appears as if the Akatsuki believe that Naruto has returned to Konoha. They believe we are secretly harboring him. As much I wish that were true, it isn't. However, according to our source, the Akatsuki are assured of this. They may attempt to make a move against us. Soon, too."

Kakashi spoke up.

"Alright, Hokage-sama, but you mentioned a mission. What exactly do you want us to do?"

"Well, currently, I can't give you an 'official' mission. The elders wouldn't hear of it. However, I trust you three. I'm giving you an unofficial mission, if you will. Just keep your eyes peeled. If you notice anything, report to me immediately. That's all. You're dismissed."

"Um, Tsunade-shishou, if you don't mind me asking, who exactly is this informant? I'd like to speak to him about Naruto…"

"Well, his name is Kille-"

The door was thrown open, and an extremely muscular and dark-skinned man entered the room, walking with an apparent arrogant swagger in his step. He wore a simple flak jacket, with three swords strapped to his back, two of them regular old swords, the other a monstrous sword completely wrapped in bandages. His headband showed off the symbol of Kumo, the village hidden in the clouds.

"YO! What's good fool; it's me, the main bull!"

A collective sweat-drop was shared between everyone else in the room.

"Please don't tell me…"

"I'm afraid so," Tsunade said with a sigh.

Sakura shook her head, almost in disbelieve that this idiot managed to kill Kisame Hoshigaki, former member of the renown Seven Swordsman of the Mist, member of Akatsuki, the tailless tailed beast.

"Um, excuse me, sir, I'd like to ask you something about Naru-"

"WHOA, little mama, the name's Killer B-sama."

Suppressing a sigh, Sakura continued. "Alright, Killer B-_sama, _you were with Naruto not so long ago… right?" The pink-headed girl timidly rushed the words out. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her concern.

Thankfully, Killer B only nodded, saving all of their ears from the horrid rap ballads he would of spit.

"Was he… alright?"

"Naruto, eh? That boy will live to see another day." He paused, and his voice slipped out of his casual rapping tone. "You must be Sakura. Naruto spoke often about you, and some other boy, Sasuke. Although, I must admit, from the way he talked about you, I certainly thought you wouldn't have such a, um, _modest_ chest." Once again, everyone sweat-dropped at the comment. Tsunade looked torn between bemusement and anger at the fact that Jiraiya's perverted ways apparently transferred into Naruto. Kakashi chuckled slightly. And of course, Sasuke reminded as passive as ever. A faint tinge of pink could be seen on the kunoichi's face at the mention of Naruto remembering and talking about her in such a manner. However, that feeling was quickly overturned by the second part of the comment. In a flurry of rage, she drove her fist into Killer B's head. Hard.

"Damn, well, you're certainly as feisty as he portrayed you to be ;-)."

Everyone in the room just stared at B with dead eyes. The Jinchuriki awkwardly cleared his throat.

"And you," he nodded towards Kakashi, "must be that Hatake fellow. I've heard many things about you. You taught Naruto well, he's an excellent young man. But don't worry – he's strong. Stronger than me, and maybe even Jiraiya."

Everyone looked at the eight-tails Jinchuriki in awe. Stronger than _Jiraiya_? One the legendary Sannin? The Toad Sage? _Naruto… What exactly have you been doing over the past four years?_

Shortly after his last comment, Killer B excused himself. He was going to stick around for a while to see if Naruto and Jiraiya would return. If not, he figured he might as well be of some help to Konoha. He owed that much to Naruto, he said.

After his departure, Sakura asked "Who exactly is that guy?"

Tsunade looked at her. "Simply put, he is the eight-tails Jinchuriki. He's considered the 'perfect' Jinchuriki, as he has full control over the Hachibi. We should be extremely grateful he's here, as he's probably as strong as or stronger than our finest shinobi. That should be apparent, considering how he killed that Kisame fellow without suffering too much damage. His left arm was supposedly beaten up pretty badly, but his healing abilities took care of that quite nicely. B's arrogant as well. When he said Naruto's surpassed him, well, it's true."

Kakashi and Sakura exchanged interested glances, surprised to see how vast Naruto's development was being played off as over the course of four years. _Well, it shouldn't really be that surprising. Even before he left, Naruto was constantly growing stronger and stronger… Plus, both Sasuke and I have advanced leaps and bounds over the past four years too. But to surpass the 'perfect Jinchuriki' and Jiraiya-sama… _Sakura couldn't help but marvel at that fact.

Sasuke, however, stood rigid. Despite staying in Konoha, he only did it to proof to himself that he didn't need anyone's help to kill Itachi. He could care less about Konoha, or his comrades. Kakashi meant a bit to him, but any bond present was miniscule at best. The same could be said about himself and Sakura. But if Naruto was really as powerful as he was said to be, it would seem as if Sasuke was once again left in Naruto's ever expanding shadow.

Sakura seemed aware of this feeling inside Sasuke, and wanted to go over there and comfort him. She knew, however, it would just make him mad and he would storm out of Tsunade's office. Despite everything that happened between them, Sakura couldn't help but still feel _something_ for Sasuke. After all the perils they've faced together, how they've grown together, his ominous 'thank you' the day he tried to leave behind Konoha – and her – forever, her heart still accelerated when she saw him, she grew nervous in the presence of his aloof and cool demeanor, she still loved him. At least she thought she did. What exactly was love? Yes, she wanted to impress him, to get him to notice her. To think of her as an equal, a comrade, an adversary. He was unquestionable attractive, so of course she was at drawn to him physically. She cared for him too, but… to what extent? Sakura herself didn't even know.

Even with all of these feelings of warmth, there was still that dark, brooding side of Sasuke that was becoming more and more of a consistency in him. All he did was train, trying to hone his skills. When he wasn't training, he was either out on missions or trying to scrap together any available information on Akatsuki – specifically Itachi. Slowly but surely, Sasuke's want, neigh, _need_ to extract his revenge was taking over his actions, motives, and thoughts. It was consuming his entire being, and it was freighting. But still, there were those lingering feelings of, well, Sakura wasn't quite sure what they were of. But they were present nonetheless.

Tsunade again reminded them to come straight to her if they saw anything odd, then sent them out of her office. Kakashi said some abrupt goodbyes, and then vanished in a puff of smoke. Sakura stood there alone with Sasuke, who was fully garbed in his ANBU gear. Sasuke slowly started to walk off. _Welp, here goes nothing…_

"Sasuke!"

The masked figure turned around, facing Sakura. He just stood there, relaxed, waiting for her to continue.

"I- I was thinking, maybe we could get something to eat later, or sometime, anytime's really fine with me, just whenever you're free-"

Sasuke cut off her flustered rambling with a curt murmur of confirmation. This caught Sakura off guard. She was fully expecting to be turned down by him. Somewhat taken back, Sakura stammered out a quick okay, and then asked him if tonight around seven was fine. He nodded, then fluidly turned his heel and marched off in the other direction. Sakura sat there, unsure of what to do next. It was early, and she didn't have much else to do. She figured she might as well spend some time training.

That morning when Naruto returned with Sasuke, Sakura had meant every word that she said. Over the past four years, Tsunade took her on as an apprentice. Due to Sakura's abnormal precision with chakra control, she made a top-tier healer. Also, she could use that accurate chakra distribution to significantly increase the force of her hits by just the right amount. She had really blossomed into a strong ninja. As she sped off towards a training ground, her head was filled with thoughts of how things certainly had changed since the day Naruto had left.

* * *

The sun beat down mercilessly. The ground was blanketed in the gentle touch of fallen leaves. They crunched slightly under the faint weight of the woman who was knelt over, catching her breath. Sweat glistened on her face. She slowly brought the entirety of her body down onto the blanket of leaves, breathing heavily. Glancing up into the sky, she could tell it was probably somewhere around 5, 5:30. She laid there for a few more moments, before apathetically getting up. She trudged home, and quickly hopped into the shower. She let the warm water grasp at her body, flowing down every curve of her porcelain skin. She stepped out of the steamy caress of the shower, free of all the grime and sweat she accumulated whilst training.

Grabbing a towel off the rack in her bathroom, Sakura threw it around herself, drying the excess water that dawdled on her body. After freshening up a bit more, the kunoichi threw on some casual clothing, which consisted of a blue skirt, a light yellow undershirt, and a regular red shirt which was placed over the yellow one. She put on nothing to embellish her hair, leaving the moderately short pink bundle hanging down naturally. She then sat down on her bed, just reveling in the peaceful silence of the moment. The pinkette let the time fly by. It was nearly seven before slipping on some black boots and making her way to the apartment where Sasuke took residence. She knocked on the door.

A noise could be heard from inside, and quickly the door snapped open. Sasuke appeared in the threshold of the doorway, adorning a deep navy shirt, mundane black jeans, and a pair of black shinobi boots, quite similar to Sakura's. On the back of his shirt was the crest of the Uchiha.

The two remnants of Team 7 walked side by side in silence, Sakura awkwardly fiddling her hands, Sasuke strolling with his hands sunk deep into his pant pockets. A silence fell over them. Sakura didn't quite know what to say, how to strike up a conversation with the dark boy next to her. Sasuke just stared up 0into the clouded sky, seeming completely unbothered by the orb of stillness that had emerged around them.

"Sasuke, so, where do you want to go?"

Sasuke just said that, not even looking at her. He murmured something quietly, and Sakura thought she heard a "Wherever, it doesn't really matter". Deciding to just suffice with that answer instead of begging the question, she quickly made up her mind on where they were going.

"Ichiraku's it is then."

At the selection of the place, Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. He spoke up.

"Hm, I didn't know you were a fan of ramen."

"Huh? Oh, I'm not. I just thought, we never really get together like this, you and me. It reminds me of the old days… We might as well commemorate Naruto in some sense. After all, he was an important part of Team Seven."

Sasuke scoffed at the notion of Naruto. Sure, that idiot might be improving, but he was probably still a dead-last loser. Hell, he was probably dead considering Itachi was after him. Itachi was stronger than Sasuke himself, so there was no way Naruto could avoid him for long, let alone touch him at all if they got into an altercation.

_"But don't worry – he's strong. Stronger than me, and maybe even Jiraiya."_

Killer B's words rang in Sasuke's head. _No, there's no way Naruto could be stronger than Jiraiya… I've heard the stories – Jiraiya's probably on the same level as Itachi – if not higher than that level. That Jinchuriki freak B must have been over playing Naruto, feeling the need to defend a fellow monster._

Despite these reassuring thoughts, Sasuke couldn't help but have an untamed rage fester up instead of him. Naruto had bested him, dragged him back to Konoha, then left without a word. Sasuke had appeared an afterthought to the blonde-haired shinobi. The simple wordless departure seemed endlessly arrogant to Sasuke, and left a deep-seated anger within him.

The pair made their way to the newly-constructed ramen shack. Ever since the attacks done by Orochimaru, most of the village had to be re-built. Ichiraku's was no exception. The original restaurant had been torn down in the onslaught, but the new Ichiraku's looked much better. It was larger, brighter, and the business was booming. It seemed as if despite all of the tragedies that were thrown their way, everyone kept to it, and didn't let things trudge down on them too much.

Sakura and Sasuke ducked into the restaurant. They were greeted by an over exultant Ayame. She was the daughter of Teuchi, the shop's owner.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke-kun! To what do you owe your rare visit? We ever so scarcely see you two alone, let alone together, since Naruto left! It's so nice to have you guys here. Anyways, what can I get you guys?"

The both ordered and Ayame scurried off to the kitchen, leaving the two teammates to their own devices. They both sat there silently, occasionally sipping on the water that had been placed in front of them. Sakura was the one who finally broke the silence.

"Sasuke-kun, why did you agree to, well, go out with me like this? It's evident you don't have anything to say and are hardly enjoying yourself, so why?"

Sasuke stared at her for a minute. He seemed to be sizing her up. He looked somewhat hesitant to answer, but finally did.

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

Sakura peered at him, perplexed.

"About what?"

"If the Akatsuki come here in a futile attempt to capture that… dobe Naruto, I don't want you to be out there fighting them."

"What the hell do you mean, Sasuke? We never talk, never interact, and you're sitting here telling me what the fuck I should do? " Sakura was fuming was a sudden outburst of annoyance.

"Tsunade will put us on a team together, probably with Kakashi too. Kakashi and I are more than enough to take care of anything in our way; you'd be more useful healing anyone who could potentially be injured."

"Sasuke… this isn't some petty group of bandits, this is a culmination of the world's strongest, most dangerous shinobi! _Kakashi-sensei _would have trouble one-on-one with any of them, Sasuke-kun. I don't care how strong you've gotten, you aren't on that level."

Sasuke glared at her. _Is she saying I'm weaker than Itachi? Tch. She's just an idiot anyways._

"Whatever, just don't stray into the battlefield. You'd just get in the way. I don't want to be assigned to the position of baby-sitting you when _he_ could be out there."

"Sasuke, you're really an idiot. I trained under Tsunade, our Hokage, a Sannin, for four years. Even though it may not be apparent, I'm not the same helpless little girl I use to be."

Her voice was tight, coiled with exasperation. It came out in a light sigh. Even after all that's happened, Sasuke was still the same ignorant little kid.

"Hn. Just don't get in my way."

That being said, Sasuke walked out of the ramen outlet in a detached manner. Sakura angrily threw some money down on the table, and then stormed out of Ichiraku's. She aimlessly wandered around the confines of the village for some time. Settling down on a bench, Sakura stared up at the boundless sea of stars in the night sky. Gazing up at the serene scene, her rage couldn't help but alleviate some. Sasuke made her so mad – he was childish, arrogant, cool, attract- _No, no, bad Sakura! Sasuke's not a good guy, he's someone who just disregards anyone who gets in his way, he's someone who is so concerned with his own ambitions that he puts everything as a second priority to it, he's someone…. I-I love…_

Then, all of a sudden, there was an explosion, followed up by several screams. They were cut short.

"Shit, don't tell me…"

Sakura's words were cut off as two figures, each adorning a cloak of black, with several red clouds placed on it, ran up beside the bench.


	3. Chapter 3

**lol ok chapter 3 after who knows how long plz enjoy**

* * *

"Who the fuck is this bitch?"

If Sakura wasn't literally rooted to her seat in absolute fear, she would have lashed out on the pale-skinned, robed figure in front of her. There was a silence from his partner, who, quite frankly, just looked bored. The first man fidgeted in spot for a moment, then opened his mouth.

"Kakuzu you asshat, don't fucking ignore my question. Who the fuck is she?"

He jabbed a finger in Sakura's direction. The one talking was a silver-haired man. He had striking purple eyes. His bare chest jutted out of an opening in his robe, and he had a giant scythe strapped to his back. Both a slashed Yugakure headband and an odd looking amulet hung from his neck, resting on his exposed torso. His partner stood rigid. He was slightly taller, and wore a mask that covered his face. Also, a white hood covered his head, cutting his hair off from view. Dark-skinned fingers peeked out of his robe's sleeve, painted with a dark green nail polish. Also, the man's eyes had an odd green tint about them. Each sported a different ring on their hands. After staring his partner down, the masked one simply shrugged.

"Can I sacrifice her to Jashin-sama?"

Finally the second one spoke up, his voice coming out in a deep grumble.

"No, Hidan, you can't sacrifice her to your bullshit god. Kill her if you must, but we actually have a mission to do. You've attracted enough attention as is, and we've probably got dozens of shinobi on our tail as we speak. I suppose killing another won't hurt, but no sacrifices."

The first one, who's partner had referred to as Hidan, got a sick-looking grin on his face as he raised his scythe. He barked out a quick rebuttal in regards to his "bullshit god" then sent the weapon flying down on Sakura. Right before the triple-bladed scythe came crashing down on Sakura's throat, her reflexes managed to kick in and she rolled out of the way, leaving the soft spot of ground below her to be completely demolished. Hidan broke out into a sadistic laughter.

"Finally someone with some fight in them! All of those other fuckers just sat there like idiots while I cut their damn heads off. Well, this one bastard with some smelly ass mutt put up a bit of a fight, but he was a waste of my damn time. It was funny as hell to watch him die though, his dog flipped shit."

Sakura stared at him in bewilderment. _H-he killed Kiba… _Kiba and Sakura were never the_ best_ of friends, but regardless, he was still a friend, a comrade, a member of the Rookie Nine… Sakura clenched her fist. Sending chakra radiating throughout her limbs, she raised a fist and flung herself at Hidan. Somewhat surprised at her brash charge, Hidan was caught off guard. Her fist landed, causing a sickening thud and the Akatsuki member went flying back.

"Ow – what the fuck Kakuzu! Why didn't you stop her?"

Once again, the stoic, masked man just shrugged, not making any attempt to help out his partner. Hidan got up and dusted off his robe, muttering vulgarities to himself. After straightening out his robe, he turned back to Sakura.

"Alright bitch, I'm done with your games."

Out of nowhere, Hidan's scythe flew into the air, propelled by a cord. Sakura _just_ managed to avoid it, deterring her head enough so it just landed a scratch on her cheek. The cut was small, hardly drawing any blood. The blade retracted, flying right back towards Hidan. The man grasped the blade hungrily. He went to lick the blood of the scythe's blade when–

"Raikiri!"

Suddenly, Kakashi's hand, wielding a blade of electrically charged chakra, appeared through Hidan's chest. Blood erupted out of the gaping hole where the man's heart should be. This was quickly followed up by a quick cut of an ANBU sword, striking right across the Akatsuki's throat. A bright splash of crimson flew into the sky, quickly plastering the ground. Hidan's head slowly fell off of his neck, rolling off to the side. All three Konoha ninja stood there, shocked at how easily one of the notorious Akatsuki had fallen.

"Well… that was easier than excepted." Kakashi said, voicing the thoughts of everyone present, save Kakuzu.

"Motherfucker! That hurt like hell!"

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura's expressions quickly turned from shock to disbelief. They all turned their vision to the disemboweled head of Hidan, gaping at it with mortified looks.

"D-did his head just… talk?" Sakura spluttered out.

Kakashi just nodded solemnly. Hidan's head opened it's mouth once again.

"Kakuzu, get over here and re-attach my head dammit."

Kakuzu just glared at the head of Hidan, before slowly making his way over to it. He picked it up by the hair, much to the complaint of Hidan, and trudged over to his limp body. The gushing waterfall of blood inflicted by Kakashi's Raikiri had formed a formidable pool of irony liquid. Kakuzu placed Hidan's head back on the body, and a few threads slithered out of his cloak's arm. They quickly stitched the head back to the body.

"That's much better. Damn, that hurt like hell!"

Now re-assembled, Hidan proceeded to do what he initially aimed to. He gently lapped up the small sliver of Sakura's blood from his scythe.

"Kakuzu," Hidan said, while nodding towards Sasuke and Kakashi, "be a doll and take care of those assholes for me. I'll get the pink one."

As he said this, his skin slowly started to darken. White spots appeared along his arms, face, and exposed chest. They took on the appearance of bones, the blinding whites reflecting off of his now completely black pigment. Sticking his foot in the large blotch of his own blood that had gathered under him, he drew a symbol much like the one on his amulet – a circle with a triangle on the inside – on the ground, placing himself in the dead center. The immortal starts to break out into a rabid laughter.

"Now, let's relish in joint agony!"

Sakura was about to voice a question about this "joint agony", when her eyes widened. Hidan had pulled a retractable spear out of his cloak, and plunged into deep into his left shoulder. However, this isn't what caused Sakura's eyes to widen. It was the fact that just as Hidan did so, the kunoichi felt a searing pain creep over her left shoulder, a wound blossoming deep within it.

Kakashi, seeing the sudden wound, began to rush over to his former student. In an instant, Kakuzu appeared before him. Before Kakashi could react, a fist was rammed into his stomach, sending the brazen shinobi flying backwards. Kakashi quickly regained his composure, regarding his still-standing adversary wearily. He noted that the Akatsuki member's skin was considerably darkened from its natural color, presumably due to some Earth-style technique.

"That's a nifty technique you have there," the gray-haired man said, putting a hand over the headband he used as an eye patch. "Doton: Domu, if I'm correct." He flipped up his headband, revealing the tantalizing red eye that was often hidden behind it.

Kakuzu's eyes gleamed. "Kakashi of the Sharingan, eh? Quite a bounty on your head… I'll make sure I come back to collect your body after we're done here."

Kakashi arched in eyebrow. "You seem so sure of yourself. It's apparent that you possess an Earth-style affinity due to your Doton technique. As you've seen, I'm quite competent in Lightning releases. Even your crystallized skin won't be enough to repel a Raikiri."

The green-eyed man chuckled to himself. "That's quite true, Kakashi Hatake. However…"

Kakuzu's tore his cloak off, revealing a body that seemed to be held together by tons of stitches. On his back, four strange masks were implemented. Slowly, his entire body started to convulse. His limbs stretched apart, showing off an abundance of cords running throughout his being, shaking violently. Suddenly, his back exploded, and four separate entities shot out. They were each a mass of the black cords that Kakuzu possessed, and every one was adorned with a different mask.

"…I wouldn't so casually underestimate your opponent. And now, you die."

Kakuzu's body reconnected itself. One of the beings, which crouched on four legs and had odd-looking wings hanging on its back, opened its mouth. Several pellets of wind-enhanced chakra shot out at a rapid pace, flying directly towards Kakashi. Flying off to the side, Kakashi and Sasuke managed to avoid the ensuing explosive in the nick of time.

_First earth, now wind…_, Kakashi thought. _He's strong too – and fast. Hm, this guy might be a tough one._ Kakashi nodded towards Sasuke, and the boy's typically dark eyes flashed red. Kakuzu diverted his attention to the Uchiha.

"Another Sharingan user, eh? You must be Sasuke Uchiha. Itachi's brother. Hmph, I wonder if you're anywhere as strong as him. Well, you've made quite a name for yourself, as well as a decent bounty considering your age, so I guess you can't be that awful."

At the mention of Itachi, Sasuke's face contorted in rage. Without any sort of warning, Sasuke rushed towards Kakuzu, his hands flashing symbols.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

A looming fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth, seemingly engulfing Kakuzu and his four creatures. A giant cloud of smoke settled over everyone in the vicinity. As the area cleared, Sasuke stared in dismay. Another one of Kakuzu's beings stood in front of the rest, water flowing out of it's mouth. The water joined to erect a giant wall, completely counter-acting Sasuke's fire release jutsu. The wall collapsed, sending a current of water crashing down on Sasuke. He quickly jumped up, avoiding the tumultuous crush of the waves. Sasuke flipped backwards, landing in a shallow puddle of the giant wall's remains. In the blink of an eye, another one of the creatures – this time a tall-standing beast – shot a beam of lightning straight at the floods that resulting due to the fallen wall. Sasuke wittingly jumped to the sky, avoiding the resulting blast of the enhanced lightning move.

Out of nowhere, an empowered hand came crashing down on Sasuke's back, sending him flying back towards the ground. He landed with a deafening thud, creating a small indent in the earth below him. Kakashi quickly ran over to him. Kakuzu landed a tad bit more gracefully than the man he just struck down, cracking his knuckles.

"I guess you're not nearly as strong as Itachi. Should be expected though, hardly anyone is. Still, I thought you'd be a bit more of a challenge than that."

Sasuke, blood dabbled on his chin from the steady flow of it falling from his mouth, forced himself up.

"Sh-shut the fuck up, freak." Sasuke spat out between heavy breaths.

Kakuzu just stared down at the fallen Uchiha, eyes as bland and unrevealing as ever. He slowly lift his arms up in front of him, and his arms split slightly where they were stitched together, a mass of the steel-like cords erupting out of his arms. The cords enveloped Sasuke, penning him down to the ground. Kakuzu slowly made his way towards Sasuke's body.

"I'm going to rip your heart out."

Sasuke just grunted at Kakuzu's seemingly definite assertion. As Kakuzu neared Sasuke, a sudden electrical current exploded around his body.

"Chidori Nagashi!"

The flaying waves seemingly made out of strands of Chidori struck Kakuzu, sending him flying back and to the ground. Apparently, the lightning-charged move took an extra affect on the earth-style shell Kakuzu had around his body. One of the charges had struck Kakuzu through the heart. His body lay there, eyes dead, unmoving. Kakashi stepped over towards Sasuke's heaving body, extending a hand. Sasuke just beat the hand away and lifted himself up on his own.

Looking at the boy questioningly, Kakashi said "I didn't know you developed a new form of Chidori."

"Hn. I've been working on it for a while."

Kakashi nodded and turned towards the body of the seemingly dead Kakuzu. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but found no words came out as, much to his horror, the crouching, winged wind styled beast Kakuzu had released from his body suddenly collided into his exposed back. The beast was sucked into his body as one might be into a ravaging tornado. There was utter silence, nothing moved. Then all of Kakuzu's fallen body jumped up, a heartbeat flowing through his entire body. The body convulsed again. Then again. Finally, the dead man stopped jerking around. Slowly, Kakuzu got to his knees, a hand on the ground. He was doubled over panting. After a short moment, he stood tall and straight as he had before. He opened his mouth as to speak, but Hidan's shrill call could be heard across the small area they had been fighting in.

"Dude that was pussy shit! That Uchiha bitch got one of your hearts! Damn, I know you're old and all, but you let some amateur like him take one out? God, you're such a pussy man."

They all turned towards the bleeding man incredulously. Kakashi had completely forgotten about Sakura. He glanced over at her. She was alive, but sported several major wounds. She still held her shoulder, the initial wound inflicted by Hidan's curse. Also, she had a major gash on her left thigh, and her right knee was demolished. She had cuts running up and down both arms. One hung limply by her side, the other grasping her left shoulder. The kunoichi was pushed to her limit, completely exhausted, ready to collapse.

Conversely, Hidan had a glorified look on his face. He relished in the pain he inflicted on himself – and in turn, Sakura. Every stab, every slash, every cut set him off, giggling crazily and shouting out in a lurid rush of pleasure. His spear was held loosely in his right hand, dripping with an excess of fresh gore. Kakashi looked at the scene with disgust. Glancing over at Kakuzu, he noticed that the man was still a bit disoriented, thrown off his typical façade of daunting superiority. Deciding to aid Sakura, the gray-haired man bolted off in her direction. Kakuzu noticed, but made no attempt to stop the man. Instead, the water creature lurched off towards Kakashi. It released a giant bullet of water towards the shinobi. Kakashi slid off to the side, narrowly missing the bulk of the attack. He collected chakra in his hand, then it exploded into a ball of electricity. Instead of his trademark Raikiri however, the ball jumped from his hand and took the form of a hound, bounding towards the hulking being that combated the man.

"Raiton: Raiju Hashiri no Jutsu!"

With the water-bearing creature now battling the rough dog made of pure lightning, Kakashi covered the distance between himself and Sakura. In that short time, however, Kakuzu managed to recover from his ailments. In a dash, the ancient shinobi appeared before Kakashi. He again struck him, sending the Sharingan wielder crashing back, next to the stumbling Sasuke. Kakashi, his attempt at trying to save Sakura foiled, regarded Kakuzu.

"You… you should be dead. How are you seemingly back at 100%, let alone alive?"

Chuckling, Kakuzu responded. "Since you're going to die here, I might as well enlighten you. In truth, I'm 93 years of age." This statement resulted in more dubious stares from Kakashi, as well as Sasuke. "How have I maintained and preserved my body throughout the ages? I simply tear out the hearts and other vital organs of my fallen enemies. I transplant them into myself, extending my lifespan. In total, I have five hearts. You've just killed one, which I congratulate you on, Sasuke. Rarely does one manage to lay a blow on me, let alone kill me once. However, I'm afraid your luck ends here. Now you die."

Without any time to react to Kakuzu's explanation, the fire beast released a giant current of flames towards the still recuperating Kakashi and Sasuke. They both managed to roll out of the way in time to avoid any major damage, but Sasuke scorched the top of his left arm ever so lightly. Despite the faint brush with the over-bearing flames, they burnt deeply and harshly into his skin, mangling up the entirety of his upper arm. Sasuke grimaced, but slowly dragged himself up. Kakashi was already up, quietly observing the situation.

Sasuke was winded, exhausted, and, above all, injured. Kakashi himself had taken several blows and used up a decent amount of chakra as well. He was starting to tire, rapidly too. At the same time, Kakuzu seemed as strong and collected as ever, the effects of battle seemingly holding no control over him. _This could be bad…_, Kakashi thought. He looked off to his side. His hound was still ravaging the water creature. Behind them, Sakura and Hidan still stood there, facing off. Assessing the situation as grim, Kakashi decided it was either go big or go home. He closed his left eye, focusing. He was shifting his Sharingan into it's Mangekyo state. He planned on attempting to take out the four remaining hearts of Kakuzu and Hidan in one final, probably suicidal, stroke. Using his new technique of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Kamui, which sucks anything it's aimed at into an alternate dimension. He took in one final breath, ready to finish it. _Well, here goes nothi-_

Then, out of nowhere, a giant gust of wind came flying through the area. The surrounding trees swayed with the pull of the wind. Everyone stumbled over a bit, not able to maintain their footing as the wind pounded against them. Hidan flew out of his curse site, and Sakura collapsed to the ground. As the wind receded, a giant cloud of dust was kicked up. Finally, the wind subsided, leaving only the cloud of dust, deluding everyone's vision.

Right as the dust settled, a flash of yellow flew by Kakashi, Sasuke, and Kakuzu, all still trying to see properly. The dust still lingered, teasing their vision. At the sight of the yellow flash, Kakashi reeled back. His thoughts were racing. _M-Minato-sensei… no, no, there's no way… Then… it has to be-!_

Suddenly, another explosion happened of to their side. A voice, all too familiar and yet ever so alien, rang out.

"Rasengan!"

Hidan's scream of pain echoed in the ears of everyone as the dust finally settled down for good, revealing a yellow-haired, blue-eyed man standing over Hidan, a small crater cracked into the ground under him.


End file.
